tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36841665.post7303754140065775816..comments2023-12-31T13:47:05.758+00:00Comments on Fat Man on a Keyboard: Public discontentThe Plumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09244528534476387323noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36841665.post-81457636723138665432008-06-09T09:40:00.000+01:002008-06-09T09:40:00.000+01:00Shuggy: I didn't say that *I* think those things. ...Shuggy: I didn't say that *I* think those things. My missus is a teacher so I'm not allowed to. I'm saying that the pubic sector and the private sector have a mutual resentment going on that isn't really based on an accurate picture of what their work involves.<BR/><BR/>It's a bit like that 'Moynihan's Law' thing. People don't moan about private equity bosses because there's no point. But if you work for a private equity employer, there are no words for just how shit it really is.<BR/><BR/>On the punctuation thing, just think about how many weekend hours could be saved if you were to ignore where commas and colons go.Paul E.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15234456385928668896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36841665.post-17156281330199971432008-06-09T00:20:00.000+01:002008-06-09T00:20:00.000+01:00They don't work weekends and they only work their ...<I>They don't work weekends and they only work their paid hours</I><BR/><BR/>Oh, and that's a load of shite too. When do you think the marking gets done then? <BR/><BR/>And will you deal with the whole capital letters following the colon thing? It's been annoying me.Shuggyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00298179140317536572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36841665.post-47500608326408303352008-06-09T00:10:00.000+01:002008-06-09T00:10:00.000+01:00- They get job security- They get good holidays- T...<I>- They get job security<BR/>- They get good holidays<BR/>- They get bosses that are accountable in some way<BR/>- They get health and safety officers and equality schemes and equal ops<BR/>- They have unions that can sometimes get their way<BR/>- They have a career path - a well troden structure<BR/>- They moan about their pay, but actually, they often get more than we do<BR/>- They fuck off early on a Friday and no-one notices<BR/>- They don't give a toss whether they do their job properly or not<BR/>- They just blame politicians when one of their schemes go wrong<BR/>- They don't work weekends and they only work their paid hours</I><BR/><BR/>All this is true - apart from the fucking off on Friday. Oh, and the bit about not caring about whether we do our jobs properly. On the other hand, we take care of adolescents that everyone else is scared of - so it all balances out. Btw, you don't capitalise the beginning of a sentence if it follows a colon.Shuggyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00298179140317536572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36841665.post-30360264993473464352008-06-08T12:56:00.000+01:002008-06-08T12:56:00.000+01:00That's a really good round-up of the arguments the...That's a really good round-up of the arguments there Peter, and you know I agree with you on this.<BR/><BR/>One thing that I think I've learned lately though: The focus on structures is less important than the need for an understanding of what the public sector is for and what the deal is. <BR/><BR/>There is an unspoken greivance between people that work in the private sector and the public sector. We (I work in the private sector) think:<BR/><BR/>- They get job security<BR/>- They get good holidays<BR/>- They get bosses that are accountable in some way<BR/>- They get health and safety officers and equality schemes and equal ops<BR/>- They have unions that can sometimes get their way<BR/>- They have a career path - a well troden structure<BR/>- They moan about their pay, but actually, they often get more than we do<BR/>- They fuck off early on a Friday and no-one notices<BR/>- They don't give a toss whether they do their job properly or not<BR/>- They just blame politicians when one of their schemes go wrong<BR/>- They don't work weekends and they only work their paid hours<BR/><BR/>And so on. I'm exagerating these greivances for illustrative purposes, and I won't bore listing the reciprocal grievances that you lot have about us. But - if you spent a bit of time working for a private equity employer, beleive me, you'd be screaming all of the above at the top of your voice. <BR/><BR/>But it's largely unspoken, and this needs to change.<BR/><BR/>Also, the last thirty years have been a massive failed experiment. At the bottom of the whole privatisiation / next-steps / PPP / blablabla experiment has been an assumpton: That the two sectors are porous and that people can switch between one and the other and cross-fertilisation can add value.<BR/><BR/>This assumption has now been proved to be wrong. People pick one or the other by their mid-20s and stick with it, for the most part. Sometimes, public sector people get private sector employers and work in some half-arsed impersonation of the private sector, getting the worst of both worlds. But broadly, they stay in a 'public sector job' being passed around by NGOs, 'social enterprises' charities, management consultants and their original public sector bosses.<BR/><BR/>It's time that public sector workers found a voice - a professional voice - that is amicably divorced from their unions. One that is agnostic on pay-and-conditions, but one that promotes an articulation of what working in the public sector is for. How it isn't simply a massive 'producer interest'.<BR/><BR/>The Unions have been largely silent on managerialism - and only really pipe up when pay is cut or people are laid off. Something else is needed.Paul E.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15234456385928668896noreply@blogger.com